As a gardener I like to think back on the growing season and write down any lessons, advice, notes etc. that will help me for next year.
I’ve grown cannabis plants for 5 years now (I discovered OG this summer and my knowledge has increased about 10x since then), all outdoor, so with my harvest curing it’s time to reflect.
Most of my learnings this year are related to the variety I’m growing, so I won’t list those here.
I’ll share 2 very basic / beginner learnings:
I learned to wait longer to make selections. I F2’d my homemade hybrid last season and sprouted ~100 seeds. Made my selections way too early (before sexing), based on vigor (luckily only one was male) and thin leaf shape (not realizing that would change)
Leave some extra stem when trimming individual buds to use as a handle, which made me feel dumb for not thinking of that sooner
Something called a magic carpet mix fedco I think. Worked fine but I planted it splotchy and really needed the splash protection from something. Swapped to hay and got some fuzzies under there and they bounced back
I learned not to trust wireless hygrometers. Tried a couple of different models and they are both inconsistent AF.
The only RH number I trust is on the dehumidifier.
I learned the importance of spraying IPM as a prevention method and not just a treatment method and not to buy cheap clones that haven’t been tested. Long story short I got a spider mite infested clone and didn’t know. Sent clones to my buddy and then he got mites. Both of us had to toss our grows and shut down shop for like a month and take prevention measures to kill any mites left and prevent anything from coming back. Ever since then i can’t believe I never sprayed IPM thinking it won’t happen to me
On my outdoor grow I learned that light weekly feedings are better than 1 full dose every 2 weeks or once a month.
It’s a bit more work but I was pleased with the results.
don’t overwater the seedlings, they die at the root.
be careful when opening the seed flips.
both ways i lost one, and also one didn’t pop through the surface after going into the dirt, not sure what caused it so i didn’t learn how to prevent it.
Indoor guy here, learned about the beautiful simple octopot this year. What a fantastic system, its like best of both worlds DWC bubble buckets and fabric pots.
Did anybody using (led) lighting find A : a better yield than regular? And did you have other colours in your led bar ,and do you think having those other lights helped your grows yield ?
Like many other I learned the importance of weekly IPM. I also learned that drying & curing is the most important step for quality. Making sure my drying environment is just as dialed in as my grow space and not to rush the drying process.
